Balzan turn defeat into victory to reach FA Trophy final

Balzan secured a place in the final of the FA Trophy as they defeated Birkirkara 3-2 in the first semi-final at the National Stadium on Saturday. In the final, Balzan will be meeting Gzira United or Valletta who face each other in the second semi-final on Sunday.

This will only be their second appearance in the FA Trophy final appearance after losing on penalties to Sliema Wanderers in 2016.

Balzan managed to take the lead on the 8th minute thanks to a Nenad Sljivic header following a Ricardo Calixto Correa corner from the right.

Birkirkara levelled matters on the 32nd minute thanks to Michael Mifsud, who received an assist by Mislav Andjelkovic and rounded Sljivic before beating Mintoff with a great rising shot which ended in the top right corner.

The Stripes went 2-1 ahead five minutes from the end of the first half when Johann Bezzina released Jorginho on the left and the latter anticipated Mintoff with an angled shot for Michael Mifsud to tap the ball home.

Balzan equalised nine minutes in the second half thanks to Uros Ljubomirac who slammed the ball home following a free kick by Cadu from the left.

Ten minutes from time, Balzan notched the winner when Uros Ljubomirac sent Alfred Effiong through and the latter beat Eduardo Mancha on the run before hitting the ball past Naumovski.